Senior living community looking to make Wadsworth home

WADSWORTH – If all goes well, construction on a senior living community in the south end of the city could begin later this fall.

The Village of St. Edward, a senior living community in Fairlawn, has purchased 57 acres of the former brickyard property recently annexed into the city from Wadsworth Township.

“Initially we are planning to develop a third of the property,” said John Stoner, president and CEO of The Village of St. Edward. “Our plan is to do the development in phases.”

This first phase is expected to include 50 independent living units, 28 assisted living units and 14 assisted living/memory care units.

Stoner said The Village of St. Edward has been working with City Planner Jeff Kaiser and Wadsworth’s engineering department, but added an official site plan has not yet been submitted to planning commission.

“Right now we are just seeking feedback,” Stoner said. “It is important that we get off to the right start with the Wadsworth community.”

Stoner said this will be the first time The Village of St. Edward has constructed a community outside of its main campus in Fairlawn. He said the organization looked at different areas in the region and after some market study realized Wadsworth was a very desirable location with a strong Catholic heritage and a number of families who could benefit from having a place where aging parents could live nearby.

Stoner said the first phase would be a connected facility with different wings for independent, assisted and memory care living. These wings would be connected by a common area where residents can congregate or have something to eat. Stoner said he expects there will be approximately 50 full-time and part-time employees after the first phase is developed.

“We want to make use of the natural surroundings,” Stoner said. “There is a pond and wetland and we would also like to develop some amenities such as possibly a walking path and we want to be environmentally conscious.”

While construction isn’t expected to begin until this fall, Stoner said workers have already done some clearing and cutting down of trees. According to federal law, the trees had to be cut down before April 1 or after Oct. 31 as not to disturb any possible nesting places for the Indiana brown bat.

Depending on city approval, Stoner said construction should hopefully begin late this fall with the first phase complete in late 2017 or early in 2018.

“Right now we have already had several people who have expressed interest in the facility,” Stoner said.